Dennis Skinner isn't a hero, he's just tedious and rude

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Dennis Skinner is 84 years old and has served as an MP for 46 years. He has made some remarkable and powerful speeches in that time.

For instance, whatever your politics and your view of welfare reform, I challenge you to watch this, from 2013, without being just a little affected by the emotional force Mr Skinner brings to bear when talking about his constituent. Simply, it's a masterclass of effective parliamentary speaking.

To be clear, the ejection came because the rules of the House forbid members from questioning each others' motives or honour; all members are presumed to be honourable. There's a lot about parliamentary convention that's a bit daft and outmoded, but his rule isn't old-fashioned ritual. It's actually a perfectly sensible way to conduct debates.

If you don't believe me, try having a political argument on Twitter and see how long it is before someone impugns someone else's motives, accuses them of some hidden or malign agenda, or otherwise suggests they're acting in bad faith.

Really, a rule that requires all combatants to treat opponents as honourable is actually the best way to keep debate civil. Or to put it another way, if you think the Commons is a shouty rabble, it would be a whole lot worse without the "honourable members" rule.

And that is the rule that Dennis Skinner routinely ignores in order to shout childish abuse at people on the other side of the House. That abuse has included saying that half the Conservative Party are "crooks", talking about George Osborne and "lines of coke", and referring David Owen as a "pompous sod".

There's also the annual pantomime of his "hilarious" gag at Black Rod's expense during the State Opening of Parliament, which parliamentary tradition demands that everyone finds terribly funny, even though we all know the joke wore out years ago.

The latest expulsion is of a piece with those antics: celebrated by many as outspoken and bold, but actually just boorish and boring. He's inevitably being lionised on Twitter by people who were, rightly, angry at things like David Cameron telling Jeremy Corbyn to "put a proper suit on and do up your tie" or calling Mr Skinner a dinosaur.

Put it another way, if Mr Dennis Edward Skinner, Labour member for Bolsover, was Sir Dennis Skinner-Edwards, Conservative member for Wiltshire Somewhere, how many of those who guffaw at his antics today would find it amusing to see him yell personal insults around the Commons?

As I said, there are good things about Mr Skinner and he brings things to Parliament that few other members do. But the crude, aggressive and essentially unfunny abuse just demeans a man capable of truly powerful speaking. Don't encourage him.